We Are Young
by My Friends Call Me Cookie
Summary: He wasn't aware of the way he followed the soft curves of her waist, the hollow of her neck, the swell of her modest breasts…Oh, he thought, I'm in trouble.
1. Fate Held the Control

Yesterday, I died.

It wasn't one of those beautiful ones or the terribly tragic. I didn't die during my sleep in my lover's arms because I didn't have one. And I didn't die in the hospital with something like terminal cancer because I was never sick. The thing was, I just died.

It was spontaneous and unexpected. Even I didn't see it coming. It was as if my life was a DVD and Fate had the remote controller to the plasma screen TV that was playing my motion picture. Instead of letting the entire movie play out, Fate decided to hit stop seventeen minutes into the movie and quit on it; quit on me.

The funny part: someone else decided to put me back in the player and press play.

You're probably thinking, "What does she mean by dead?" I'll tell you what I mean.

When I died, I was very much alive. I was still breathing. What was me that died was a previous girl named Dahlia Presley. But I'm no longer her. Now...I'm Dannon Price. And you can bet I'm making this DVD worth while.


	2. The Girl With the Dreads in Her Hair

Stepping foot into Sky High, Warren Peace decided it was time to turn a new leaf. And by turning a new leaf, he meant increasing his ability to resist burning Glowstick in the ass. It wasn't anything personal, they all told the neon colored friend, it was that he needed to stop commenting on Warren's failed relationship with Icy Winters. Funny, he thought as he reached his locker, her name fits her attitude.

His hands reached inside the familiar space of the past three years, grasping an envelope that contained this year's new schedule and code of conduct. He ripped it open and checked over this year's classes. Honors and advanced, just like last year, and the year before, and the year before, and the year before…

"Warren!" He turned at the last moment, hearing his name, to catch the vigorous red head in his arms. For that small moment, he smiled, holding her to him as tight as he could before setting her down. She looked up at him with brilliant brown eyes. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you know. Burning things, working at the Paper Lantern." He threw his bag into the locker and slammed it shut. Wearing it in again. He looked down at Layla Williams and shook his head as she stood there, playing with a lock of her curled hair. It was something she did every morning when she was deep in thought. "Hey," he ruffled her hair. She frowned at him.

"What," she asked.

"What are you thinking about?" She bit her lip in hesitation before shrugging and hopping onto the pyro's back. "Where's your first class?" He began walking in no general direction knowing the minute she opened her mouth, he would most likely have to turn around and take a much longer route to her class. He was very much used to it though, seeing as he'd treated her like sister since that awful battle in the gym freshman year.

"Actually everyone needs to go to the gym for first hour." Layla tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind his ear in order to see his face more. Warren scrunched his face in confusion. The gym? There was no need, Principal Powers had moved Power Placement to a week before school started, and all gym classes were the last four classes of the school day. So why was everyone supposed to go to the gym? Layla must have noticed his confusion because she began to explain. "There's a new girl who just registered yesterday. She's a senior and Powers decided to do her Power Placement in front of the whole school."

"Wow," he said. "That might be humiliating."

* * *

><p>"Move it, Hot Head." Icy's crew had surrounded him in their watery, icy glory. He raised an eyebrow at them as Layla already began to walk towards them. Will and Majenta followed behind her. Warren stood up and towered over the tall blonde. He stared into her eyes with ferocity as her flanking friends seemed to view from a distance that was infinite but was only three inches away.<p>

He skimmed his nose down the side of her face and next to her ear as he used to when they had gone together three years ago. "Make me," he whispered in her ear. Her fingertips began to frost in anger as she backed up and stomped to the bottom row.

Layla and the others reached him just as Ethan spotted them. "Hey, Warren, what did Icy want?"

"Nothing," he replied. The Asian girl shrugged and sat down on his left, Ethan reaching them and taking his right. Layla sat in front of Magenta, leaning her back against her friend's legs. Will proceeded in raising his hand to Warren for their traditional handshake but Warren never lifted his. He was too busy staring at the earthy, willowy young woman following Boomer onto the gym platform.

Everyone ignored Powers as she began to introduce the gym teacher and their guest. When no one listened, the man forever wearing shorts opened _his_ mouth.

"SHUT _UP_!" Everyone's mouths closed as the principal smiled an aging smile at the man and turned to her students.

"Thank you," she began. "Now, I would like you all the listen and pay attention carefully as we will be introducing our newest addition to Sky High."

Principal Powers stepped down and stood by Mr. Medulla, the Mad Science teacher, and nodded to Coach Boomer. He turned to the girl standing beside him. She looked up at him with bright, blue eyes that almost showed no color at all. In fact, she would have looked blind and silver eyed had it not been for the blue hue glintingoff the pupils of her eyes.

"State your name and power," Boomer demanded.

"My name is Dannon Price; I control all the natural and spiritual elements in existence, including Shadows." Light chatter and whispers flowed throughout the crowd. Layla gasped. "I can also fly." Warren rolled his eyes. That one was typical, he thought.

No one could really believe she was an Elemental, much less harboring the gift of controlling Shadows. One look at her and Warren knew she was a Bohemian hippie with a taste for adventure. Her hair was twisted into light frizzy dreadlocks wrapped in yarn and trinkets, beads clinking together with every shake, twist, and turn of her head. Her skin was tan and brown from days out in the warm sun, exploring what he most likely assumed was the natural world. And her clothes: they spelled Boho Bold, indefinitely. A pair of high waisted, frayed shorts and a long sleeved, billowy shirt etched and made of lace and cotton silk. Several beaded necklaces hung from her neck and wrists, each one as colorful as her hair. Her pretty little moccasins looked snug and comfortable with the fringe flying in different directions as she took her steps.

So to say he'd see her as an Elemental of Earth was believable. To say she was an Elemental of anything else, including Shadows, was saying something entirely beyond the line of sanity.

Boomer took the little remote Warren had hated for several years since he had been a freshman and pressed a button. She was vaulted into the air.

Warren jumped, watching in fear as she flipped in the air several times before something amazing occurred. A colorful orb of green, blue, yellow, red, orange, silver, brown, and black surrounded her as she began to fall to the ground. She tucked herself into a fetal position as the orb exploded in glittering colors. Before them all appeared the new girl in long flowing brunette hair wrapped in leaves and branches atop her head, a glittery short gown of colors strung through each other in random order, and beautiful silver butterfly wings: the kind you would find on faeries. When her eyes opened, the only color you could see was black.

"Whoa," he breathed.

"Warren Peace is in love again!" Warren felt his heart sink at the sound of Zack's voice reaching his ear drums. He was hoping he wouldn't be seeing the glowing sidekick all day.

Before the flame thrower could get his hands on the junior, Majenta grabbed her lanky boyfriend by the hair and yanked his head down to her shoulder. He whimpered as Warren felt his hands cool at the palms. He knew Maj had it under control. She always did when it involved the neon boy. Her dead-panned personality was a stability within the group.

"HERO!"

Dannon Price was truly amazing.

* * *

><p>Warren was at his locker, throwing all his books inside the metal containment for lunch when he heard the clanging of bangles and beads. He turned his eyes to the locker on his right side. There she was, Dannon Price, stuffing her things inside the locker, bangles and beads and dreadlocks swaying and clanging. Without recognizing it, he began to stare.<p>

He wasn't aware of the way he followed the soft curves of her waist, the hollow of her neck, the swell of her modest breasts…Oh, he thought, I'm in trouble.

He was awoken from his trance by a chuckle leaving her cherry, glossed lips. She looked at him through the corner of her eye before saying, "You know, you can just say hi. I don't bite unless you ask me to." Her voice was slightly deeper than Majenta's, but sweeter and more relaxed. He blinked several times in shock. _I am so out of it…_

"Uh, hi." He tried not to strain his vocal chords but the surprise seemed to be too much for him. Her white pearls shined against her red lips.

"That wasn't so hard. I'm Dannon Price, and your name is…"

"Warren Peace," he replied.

She held out her hand for him to shake. He took it and was surprised to find her hands hot at the palms but freezing at the fingertips. He shivered as they brushed against the hairs of his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Warren Peace." She closed her locker and turned in the direction of the cafeteria. She raised her hand as she walked away. "Have a nice day!"

* * *

><p>It was the end of the first school day and Warren found himself walking towards the annoying Glowstick's house. It was Friday, which meant Movie Night, which meant Zach's house for cheesy romantic comedies and gory slasher flicks. He was mulling the day over in his head as he took each step agonizingly slow.<p>

He had Mad Science 4 Advanced Honors with Layla, Gym with Will and Majenta, and Villain Sociology and Psychosis II Honors with Ethan. Every other class was filled with the same familiar faces of the past four years and, of course…Dannon Price, Sky High's residential Boho Baby.

She was remarkable. She was, in fact, too smart for her own good and the fact that she could bring a smile to Mr. Pickles' face with a humorous answer to his Hero Villain History question of the day. Mr. Pickles was not an easy man.

Just as he turned the corner on his street, he was interrupted by the sound of squeaking and the feel of fur on his legs. He jumped, only to find it was a small guinea pig with brown and white patches on black fur and a pink nose. Its eyes looked up at the young, gorgeous pyro and glistened as he heard iron screech against iron. He looked up and sure enough, there she was.

Dreadlocks and bangles and beads, a maxi dress, and brown leather sandals. Her dreads were pulled back by a rubber band, two or three of them loose from the rubber restraint. She was sucking on a cherry red popsicle and another thing of fur was laying across her shoulder. A ferret. The raccoon face looked at him as she sorted through the mail in her hands. The small pig ran away from him and to the girl, following her up the steps and to the door. The two creatures looked at him again, once more, before the yellow door closed behind them. He shook his head. Tonight was going to be really long.

In a matter of five minutes, he found himself in Zach's living room, sprawled across the couch as the Glowstick's little sister of five slept soundlessly on him. He had come in through the door just in time to see her yawn in his embrace. He wasn't one for affection (unless it was Layla and his mother) but who could say no to the white-haired girl with elfin ears and dimples in her cheeks? Warren couldn't, obviously.

He ran his fingers through her long white locks mindlessly as he had done for the past three years. Will and Layla were snuggled up in the loveseat and whispering sweet nothings to each other with a kiss or two between. Ethan was on the floor, doing homework between five textbooks (Did the kid ever stop, Warren thought), and Zach had Majenta on his lap, pulling at the many piercings in her ears. When Warren had arrived, the previews had already been halfway through.

"Ow! Maj, what was that for?"

Everyone watched the young couple as Zach rubbed a spot on his arm that was already beginning to bruise from the shape-shifter's smack.

"You forgot my Pizza Rolls," was her reply, in the most serious of tones. Everyone was quiet.

Warren stood up from the couch, setting the little girl down before grabbing his wallet. Layla sat up in her spot next to Will and asked him, "Where're you going?"

"To go buy some smokes."

"Bring me some Pizza Rolls?" He lifted his hand, signaling a yes with a thumbs up. As he closed the door behind him, he deftly replied to himself, "Yeah, I'm not getting Pizza Rolls."

All was quiet again until Majenta spoke. "Yeah, he's not getting Pizza Rolls."


	3. Mirror On the Wall, Here We Are Again

I was currently looking in the mirror, staring back at a girl who wasn't me. I was staring back at Dahlia Presley. Her hair was long and flowing in tendrils of chocolate waves. Her skin was pale and her cheeks rosy. Her eyes were just the clearest gray that they were almost white and blind-like. Her chin was pointed and her forehead was small. She was delicate. She was Dahlia. But that wasn't me.

The girl in the mirror shifted. Staring back at me was Dannon Price. Long dreads full of yarn and trinkets fell down her back and chest. Her skin was tan and glowing and her eyes darker, green and brown swirling together. Her face was sharp, not small and pointed. She was strong. She was Dannon. This girl was me.

My eyes downcast to my hands as I sigh. The coolness of my fingertips run across the bareness of my skin and touches the glowing warmth. I am radiance and new. Yet, I feel so dull and aged.

I grabbed the lavender robe hanging from the full length mirror and wrapped it around myself. The silk feels nice on my skin and brings me comfort. _With the things I've done…I shouldn't be allowed comfort._ My mind caught up with me in a cruel way. I locked the cruelness away in my mind for the time being and walked down to the kitchen where my warden (I'm sorry, "guardian") Tenessa, waits for me with a paper plate full of pizza.

The blonde woman looked up at me from her meat lover's slice and smiled, "Hey, Dannon."

"Hi," I muttered. The bitterness of my situation settled into my mood as I munched on my vegetarian special in a cranky manner. Tenessa took that as a warning to leave me alone and continue on with her meat lover's munching. I heard a sneeze below me and looked down to see a baby red fox pawing at my legs with dainty feet. "Hey, Minnie" My mood instantly brightened.

"What is it with you and animals?" Tenessa was watching me with horrified eyes, questioning as to why my mood changed so fast.

I shrug and scratch behind the fox's ear. "I don't know. They just soothe me is all."

"Oka-a-ay…How was Sky High? Did anyone…you know…" Her eyes were looking at the plate in front of her now. She was afraid to ask.

"No. No one recognized me. And it was fine. Not like the American Institution, though." I finished my slice and grabbed another one as Minnie curled around my feet and began to sleep. I smiled softly at her and turned to Tenessa. "So, how was job searching?"

Tenessa sighed deeply and took a sip from her coffee mug before answering me with a grimace, "I found a full-timer at this Chinese place. I already hate it."

I chuckled, "Why?"

"The owner's a crazy Chinese lady who smacks her knees twice when she's mad." I laughed at my guardian.

"Well, what did you expect; a Buddhist monk that meditates every hour of every day?" I munched on my slice before swallowing and adding, "Chinese restaurant equals crazy Chinese lady who owns the place."

Tenessa just scowls at me before dropping her plate into the trash and heading upstairs. "I'm going to bed!"

"But it's only seven."

"I'm old; deal with it." Oh Lord, I thought. She's admitting she hit her late forties. She didn't get enough coffee today, did she?

* * *

><p>I was doing it again, looking into the mirror. I was looking at Dahlia.<p>

Without a moment's notice, my eyes fell upon Dannon. Dahlia was gone and nowhere to be seen.

I groaned at my stubbornness as I began to dress myself. Minnie was resting on my ready made bed, nose tucked into her chest and tail curled around her. Oreo, the guinea pig, was squeaking under my bed while he played with Chanko, the ferret. I could smell the cranberry tea Tenessa was making wafting up the staircase and into my room.

When I looked in the mirror again, the dreads no longer framed my face but were pulled back by a rubber band at the nape of my neck. I was wearing a loose razorback tank with a black and white owl printed on the front and beaded Capri-shorts that were covered in marker design after marker design. My feet were clad in light brown Oxford shoes and my bracelets were clanging against each other. The purple eyeshadow on the lid sat under a dark green at the crease and a lighter shade at the top. It matched the color scheme of the owl's outline and shading on my shirt. I sighed.

Would I really have to go through this the rest of my life?

"Dannon! Come get your tea before you miss the bus!"

As quickly as I could with the fox biting at my shirt, I ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Tenessa was pouring the tea in a thermos for me. I thanked her as she placed it in my hands. "Hmm, you look cute," she mentioned.

"Sorry, don't have time for mangos, bye!"

As I ran out the door and to my stop, I realized something. Minnie was still biting at my shirt.

* * *

><p>The blonde woman known as Tenessa stared at the door with wide brown eyes. "D-did…Did she just…" Her mouth opened and closed like a fish running out of water. "…Mangos? Oh my God…"<p>

* * *

><p>After shooing Minnie back home, I ran down to the stop at the corner of my street. At that moment I didn't care if my bag was beating my tail bone into the next skeletal system or that my rubber band was breaking and my Oxfords were starting to slip off my feet from untied laces. All I cared about was getting to that goddamned stop before it left me.<p>

I rushed past a black and red blur just as my phone beeped a familiar tune. It was the alarm set for the hour. The toe of my left shoe reached into a crack and I fell forward.

I was laughing at the edge of my bus stop, eyes blinking from the sun and arms stinging from the scrapes of the concrete sidewalk.

Suddenly, I didn't have to blink the sun from my eyes anymore. The blur of black and red was standing over me, dark eyes watching me in question. I smiled at the large form over me.

"Warren Peace," I lifted my arm in front of him, "care to assist the damsel in distress currently laying on the sidewalk?" His warm hand encircled my cool one and pulled me to my feet. He handed me my thermos. "Thanks, you're a peach."

"No problem…" I dusted myself off and crouched down to tie my laces up tight. I stood up again and cleared my throat before opening my thermos and taking a sip. "Dannon, right?"

"Yep," I replied. I smiled at him, "Warren, right?"

I find that he probably doesn't smile a lot because the way he sucked his lips in when he smiled, tucking his chin down, told me he was trying hard to keep it that way. I chuckled.

"Why so shy, Peaches?" I touched my finger to his jaw line, feeling his breathe catch at the unexpected contact. "You got a nice smile." I could feel my Southern drawl seep out again. I quickly sucked it back in and locked it away in a box.

He started breathing again. "I don't, uh, smile a lot."

"Well, you should. One day you're going to find yourself wishing you smiled when it counted the most." He let out a long breath, a very tiny smile gracing his lips. I smiled back. "You and me; we're going to be very good friends."

Students begin to fill up the stop and then it's Warren, me, and snotty freshman and cocky sophomores. I chuckled slightly as one of the sophomore girls tried to flirt with Warren by latching onto his arm and squinting her eyes almost close to try and look seductive. He seems very uncomfortable, now.

Thankfully, the bus comes and I go to get on. I hopped up the steps, do a complicated handshake with the bus driver, Billy, then sit down in the very back seat, right next to Warren. I saw the sophomore girl run onto the bus and then stop short when she saw my presence next to the handsome pyro.

Her face scrunched up in disappointment as she slumped. I shrugged at her as if to say, _What can you do?_ She sighed and sat in the first seat at the front of the bus.

"Thanks," I heard. I turned my head to look at Warren. For the umpteenth time today, I smiled.

"What can I say," I kicked back in the seat, "I know when a fella needs the help. But, your welcome."

The bus flew into the air and I resumed to quietly drinking my tea.

When the flying death trap landed safely on the school, I waved in farewell to the darling gentlemen beside me and made my way onto the campus lawn. Then a wave of energy hit me. No, it wasn't energy. It was curiosity. But who or what was it directed at? And who was it coming from. I forced away the feeling of curiosity and went inside to the school.

I walked into a classroom full of posters that contained pictures of famous heroes and villains. There was one that made my heart sink. She was posed in the middle of the air, wooden wings pumping behind her and blue skin shimmering with sun rays. Every natural element surrounded her in a circle, floating firmly around her. Black eyes looked straight at me. Divergent.

Before I could fully comprehend my feelings of sadness, the bell rang and every senior gathered at the desk to turn in their internet permission slips. Then Advanced History of Heroes and Villains II began.


	4. Tree of Life

Warren found himself watching Dannon leave the bus. The way she crooked her fingers at him before hopping off made him want to grab her fingers in his hand and feel the coolness from her water element seep through onto his own. The curiosity that swallowed him when he walked off the bus seemed to knock her out of her thoughts because she faltered right in front of him, breathing hard as his curiosity continued to swirl through his mind. _What's she like under that crazy hair_, he thought.

He watched her walk into the school, greedily drinking from her thermos what smelled like cranberry tea. His chocolate eyes followed her form until she turned the corner through the door and disappeared inside the building.

He turned his thoughts to something else. For example, the letter received from the containment center that currently held his father. It was addressed to Warren specifically. It was from his father. He didn't even bother to open it, assuming the letter was just another ploy to try and get his son to act as a messenger for him so that Lila Peace, née Cross and soon to be again (the moment the stubborn villain would sign the papers, that is), would know that he still loved her; and that he hoped she still loved him.

He could still remember the day his mother sent in the papers. He could smell the salt in her tears that endlessly streamed down her cheeks and pooled at her neck. He could hear the sobs that racked her body and carried throughout the whole house. He saw all of it fresh in his mind, despite the fact that all this happened ten years ago.

The warning bell rang loudly throughout the school.

His first period class passed by in a daze. When he regained his subconscious by second hour, he was taking notes in Villain Sociology and Psychosis II Honors beside Ethan. Their first villain to profile and diagnose: The Stormbringer. His picture was being projected on the chalkboard, thunderbolt yellow eyes and all. His skin was horribly pale beyond healthy and his murderous growling smile was partially hidden behind a mask colored in black and streaked with yellow. His eyes glowed with evil visions.

Warren remembered his mother battling him once. The way she used her telepathic powers to go inside his head and project his worst fears with her illusionary gift. The way he screamed as he dug his nails through his skin and down his face. The way his blood poured out of his eyes as he had gone legally insane. The way he plummeted to his death and the lightening striking several schools and homes stopped and floods left. He also remembered the way his mother never played hero again after that last battle.

"The Stormbringer: also known as Riley King the business tycoon and owner of The King Boating Sales Lot. Also one of the most feared villains of the twenty-first century. What can some of you tell me about him," Mrs. Jameson asked the class.

Several students raised their hand; including Ethan. Ethan's extensive knowledge and strong will power had allowed him to unlock the extent of his powers. Not only was Ethan a striking young man who "was sex in a pair of eyeglasses," he was also on the Hero Track due to his newfound ability to harden himself so that he could dent an oncoming car without being moved a single inch and break himself apart as if he were air. The past year involved Zach constantly bagging on Ethan with the nickname "Mr. Molecule."

The middle-aged woman pointed to the new hero. "Well," Ethan began as he racked through his large library of facts, "he was raised in an abusive home, brought up by a mother who constantly drank herself into sleeping coma and a father who regularly sexually abused him."

"Thank you, Ethan." The teacher looked around before settling on Josh Hartley, the boy with the six arms. "What can you tell me, Mr. Hartley?"

The sleeping boy jumped awake in his seat, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before answering back, "Uh, I guess he was an old guy with a temper tantrum." The class laughed in return to his gag. The teacher gave him a warning look before turning to Icy White, a.k.a. Freeze Girl. Warren detested the blonde. To this day, he questions why he ever went out with her. _No,_ he thought, _why did I even give her that goddamned dance?_

Her white eyes blinked in confusion before she gathered her thoughts and smiled in her seat. "He was a psychotic time bomb. But he was like all of us. He looked like us. He talked like us. He thought like us. He wasn't a villain. He was deception."

The way her eyes trailed to Warren as she spoke those last words…Just like that, the room was one fire.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Warren." He'd heard this all before. Those same six words were so engraved into his brain that he could pinpoint her entire speech; beginning with…

"You set a classroom on fire. Not only is that expensive to repair but traumatizing to all the other students in that room! Including Mrs. Jameson!" The young Peace boy sat there, contemplating just how fast Principal Powers would react if he jumped out of his seat and hurled himself out of that shiny Plexiglas window he knew only he and Stronghold alone could break. The thought was slowly turning into a plan, ignoring impending doom from an endless freefall when he heard the comet of a principal sigh. He looked up at the graying haired woman. "What were you thinking, hmm? I want to know what went through your head when you busted into the world's biggest human candlelight."

The pyro crossed his arms in front of his chest, wishing he was back home, staring at the white ceiling surrounded by red walls or taking orders at the Paper Lantern. But he wasn't in any of those places and wouldn't for a long time. He was staying at Stronghold's house tonight because his mother was out of town and she didn't trust him enough still to not set something on fire while she was away and his shifts at the Paper Lantern were thin and weary due to the school year beginning again. Especially since it was his senior year.

"I'm not talking about this," he muttered.

"Yes, you are, Warren." She stood in front of me, hands on her hips and foot tapping. That was his warning. He knew better than to test a woman of age when her hands were on her hips and her foot was tapping on that ground. He sighed.

"Icy said some things directed at me when she was answering a question in class." Powers' brow furrowed. "I lost my temper. It won't happen again, I promise."

The principal sighed and handed him a slip with her signature on it. "Get onto class. Advanced Functions I should be starting right about now." Dark eyes looked up in surprise at the shock of not being sent to the Detention Room, or as Zach once called it, "Purgatory."

"Are you serious?"

"Warren Peace, by all means, I will strangle you and then drag your dead corpse into the Detention Room if you do not leave my office in 5…4…3…"

Principal Powers had never seen a grown man run out of a room so fast with his tail tucked so far between his legs. She pressed a finger on a button.

"Nurse Spex," she called.

"_What can I do for ya, Doll?_"

"I'm going to take you up on that offer."

"_Which one? The Tylenol or the giant bottle of wine?_"

Powers thought about it for a second.

"Both."

It was horrifying. The sight of Majenta sitting on Zach's lap, letting him feed her pieces of cannolies, was the scariest thing the group of friends had ever seen. Warren had pushed his food away, actually intending to eat it today instead of reading his many books or engaging in one of Zach and Will's many lunchtime pranks. Somewhere around the third pastry, Warren threw away his tray.

Ethan was burying his nose in a book that, suspiciously, looked like he was reading upside down. Layla was chewing on her pigtail, digging her nails into Will's arm. Will was…he was watching the door. Lately, Will had been hearing things that were just a little too far to hear.

The doors crashed open and a familiar laugh rang through the cafeteria. It seemed that Dannon was always on Warren's mind. And when she wasn't, she was right in front of him, taunting him with a pureness that was hidden under 115 pounds of natural sex appeal. Yes, Dannon Price was a total and utter tease.

There was something different about her, though. When she had busted into the room, she was surrounded by a crowd of students who seemed to be coming in from a dance elective class. They were all dressed in basketball shorts and giant T-shirts. Warren found the difference.

Her hair wasn't down in crazy, frizzy dreads. They were pulled up atop her head to reveal the curls at the nape of her neck. Instead of her own tank from this morning she wore a purple sports bra with a mesh crop top over and a pair of street sweatpants. Her feet were clad in gray Chuck Taylors. It was the sheen of sweat that brought Warren's attention to the thin pink line running down her spine. The puckered scar was angry-looking in bright pink compared to tan brown skin. What were even more noticeable were lined scars that branched out from that one scar down her spine to create the form of a dead tree.

Dannon left her friends at the line with a smile as a certain blonde called her over to a table. Dannon sat across from Icy with a confused and questioning glance. Warren watched with a determined stare. He watched her smile first, and then her head nod. She spoke to Icy. Icy said something back. Suddenly Dannon got mad and spoke back with fierce lips. She left Icy's table and walked away, but not before coming over to where a certain pyrokinetic young man sat.

"Take my advice," she said. "Don't let that bitch with the glacier up her ass beat you down. She's not worth it. Never was, never will be." Her fingers skimmed along his shoulder as she walked away from him. He shivered, watching her leave, eyes fixed firmly on her funny scar. Or, in her case, scars.

The looks on his friends' faces were refreshing. At least Majenta and Zach had stopped feeding each other. They were too busy looking at Warren.


	5. Weekend Hermit Status

**Chapter 4**

There she was; the epitome of beauty. Clear blue eyes twinkled with sunlight and dark skin from days out in the sun glowed. Her delicate fingers trailed the rough edges of the tree's bark as she walked around it, building the trunk's circumference. Her eyes met mine.

"Dahlia, hi."

My mind swirled with the shock, the pressure, the fear. My hands began to shake. I reached up to latch onto a dread but all I felt were straight locks of black hair. My eyes stayed glued to hers.

"You're supposed to be dead, practically." She looked at me, her head cocked to the side. Her lips twitched into a larger grin.

"I am, dead, I mean." She took a step towards me. "But not completely."

I shiver with shock. My hands continue to tremble as my heart rate increases. What is she doing here? How is she here? "What are you talking about?"

"My body is dead but my soul isn't." I feel the tremble of my hands reach up to the top of my spine and drop into my stomach where it pools and becomes fear and soon-to-be nightmares. "When I died, my spirit was hanging in the air, Dahlia. It didn't want to leave. You absorbed me into you so I would stay."

I nodded. I knew what she meant.

"But your body isn't enough." Her body comes closer to mine. "My soul is dying inside of you. And you're dying with it."

She stands in front of me, one inch apart. Her delicate fingers reach to touch my cheekbones. Her fingertips caress the skin there.

"What do I do," I whimpered. "Please, tell me what I need to do."

"Let me become you."

* * *

><p>I sat up in my bed, my heart beating erratically against my chest. My skin was covered in sweat and my pillow was drenched in it. I felt my right temple pounding in pain.<p>

I sighed and threw myself back on the bed, my head bouncing up on the pillow twice before settling there. _Crap_, I thought. _It's getting worse…_

I stood on my mattress and touched my feet down the steps until they touched the hardwood floor of my room. I stretched my arms over my head and laced my fingers together, feeling my muscles stretch and my bones pop. The sweet release tingled down my spine as the smell of Brazilian blend coffee beans wafted through my door and into my nostrils. I smiled and took quiet, tired steps to the kitchen.

My blonde guardian sat at the counter, holding a warm mug to her lips. Dark bruises sat under her eyes and her skin looked dry and pale. Her hair wasn't brushed, thrown into a messy bun at the nape of her neck.

"Good morning, Tenessa." She grunted at me from behind her mug and took a long drink. I poured myself a cup of coffee when my eyes caught the time on the microwave. "Tens!"

She looked up at me from her mug. "What…"

"It's two in the afternoon. Why didn't you wake me up for school?" Her eyes darkened with malice and her aura turned inky with black and bloody red. She stood slowly and threw me a look of murderous intent.

"It's Saturday, you dumb bitch."

Well, someone isn't very nice today!

* * *

><p>I'm pigging out on the couch with a jar of Nutella, watching Florence and the Machine stand in a room as she sings the lyrics to <em>Shake it Out<em> when my phone rang. The screen lit up brightly with the name _Green Queen_ typed across it. I checked my phone and read her message.

_Hey, since you said you weren't doing anything for the weekend, do you want to hang out with me and the gang? –Layla 3_

Translation: Since you implied your hermit status for the weekend, let's hang out!

I flipped my phone shut, the touch screen lighting up. I dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. She picked up on the fourth ring.

"Dannon! Hey, so are you up for hanging out, today?" Her voice came across loud and unmercifully hit my ear drums with malice. I winced, but quietly forgave her seeing as she's too sweet for mean words. Tenessa's morning bitch-itude seemed to have rubbed off on me lately.

"Sure," I reply. I stuck a spoon of the delicious, creamy hazelnut spread into my mouth. "What were you thinking?"

"Open your door."

I must say, Layla is the sweetest stalker I've ever met.

I stood from the couch, dropping my jar on the coffee table and padded my way to the door. I was thankful I put on real clothes before she called. Somewhere around three in the afternoon, I pulled on a cropped pirate-wench-like shirt in pure white and a pair of black leggings that went down to my ankles. My dreads were down against my back and a cool breeze had touched the taut skin on my belly. I opened the door.

Layla stood up front, phone to her ear and red hair in French braids on both sides of her head. She wore a soft green sundress and a light denim jacket. Will, her boyfriend, who was forever wearing the American colors, stood beside her with a nervous look on his face. Ethan was faraway in the back, pushing his glasses up his nose. And Majenta and Zack were holding hands as the purple headed girl wordlessly nodded her head to one of the white-haired boy's many suggestions. I smiled at them.

"Hey, come inside. I just put out some beef to thaw." Layla hung up her phone as I hung up mine. She stepped inside with Will following behind her. Zack, ever a darling gentleman, carried Majenta in as Ethan simply walked through the door and stuck his distance from me. I closed the door. I think I slightly intimidate him…

"What are you making," Will asked.

"Lasagna," I reply.

Layla threw herself on the couch and Will followed suit. Ethan took a single red velvet chair and Maj and Zack stole the loveseat. I sat in my beige recliner with the Nutella in my hand.

"Your house is really pretty." I smiled at Ethan.

"Thanks," I replied. "So, what brings you over to my neck of the neighborhood?"

Layla answers me this time.

"Well, we were supposed to go to the park today but Ethan's allergies started acting up. So we tried going to the water park, but Maj is kinda on her period." Majenta glares at the red head. "So I figured we could hang out here and get to know you a little better."

That's how it started. My friendship with Will Stronghold and Co. began over a pan of lasagna and Florence and the Machine music videos. I'd learned a lot of things about them.

Layla had a brother who lived out in Fiji, exploring animals and trees, living in serenity who only visited once a year on her birthday. Her father had died years ago when she was a small baby, just barely grasping the bottle on her own. And when she was feeling really upset, the plants around her would begin to die.

Will was slightly guarded with his own self but opened up. He was afraid of the legacy that was carried onto him by his parents. He was afraid that he wouldn't live up to his family name. He was so crazy in love with Layla Williams that he would eat Chinese food for her, despite his hatred for the Asian food. And he was a weird sleepwalker on weekends.

Ethan lived with his older brother who had raised all of his siblings when their parents died after his younger sister was born. He found the concept of the Philoso-raptor very philosophical and intriguing. He loved cats and hated dogs. And when he had a deck in his hands…He was a master at Spades.

Majenta came from a Japanese woman who immigrated from Japan a year after she was born because her father was American and wanted his daughter and lover beside him. She liked combat boots and swiss army knives but hated lipstick and dresses. And if she could go anywhere in the world, she'd definitely go to Montana where everyone would just "keep quiet about their gossip."

Zack was a bumbling mess. He had a father who constantly tried to get him to stop messing with his powers. And he played video games like they were a religion. He watched Star Wars on a regular basis with Majenta every weekend and had Shrek bed sheets. And when his body wasn't glowing, his clothes were doing it for him.

They learned about me, too. At least, they learned the stuff I was trained to tell people…

"And after Zack blew the classroom up with his lightning sneeze, everyone just stared at him." Will was recalling a story from their sophomore year.

I took a bite of my lasagna and looked at him. "And after that?"

"Majenta busted out laughing for the first time ever since we've known her." Will waved his hands around enthusiastically. Though, he couldn't compete with Layla the way she did when she told me the story of her sixth birthday party with Will gone wrong. "Principal Powers came in and asked about the accident. Ethan looked at her with the straightest face he could bring out and said 'It seems Zack blew his shit up.'" I laughed alongside Layla and Ethan. Will was snickering behind his hand. Majenta and Zack were perched on the loveseat, too busy playing with Minnie to pay attention to what was going on around them.

A ringing noise came from Layla's phone. She picked it up as she took her empty plate to the kitchen.

"Hello," she called into the phone. There was silence before she answered back with joy. "Oh, hey Warren! How's it going?"

She continued to speak with him for several minutes before she told him all of a sudden, "Why don't you come hangout with us at Dannon's house? It's like two streets down from…Oh, you already do? Well, can we expect you?" She looked at her watch. "Alright, I'll see you in five minutes then. Bye!"

She sat down next to Will and he lovingly threw his arm around her shoulder. "Warren call, asking where we were?"

"Yep!" She rested her head on his shoulder. "He's gonna be here in five minutes, actually. Hey, Dannon, did you know he already knew where you lived?"

"No," I shook my head as I heard a motorcycle suddenly pull into the driveway. I grinned. "But, I had a feeling."

The doorbell rang. I stood up and walked to the door. When I opened it, there he stood, Warren Peace, in all his glory. His eyes, for a long time, never left mine as I welcomed him into my house.


	6. Powder White Button Down

**Chapter 5**

He watched her. Her every move, he stalked and analyzed as she swayed across the living room with Frank Sinatra blaring from the TV's speakers. A tray of sodas was professionally balanced on her hand. She was delicately placing a glass in everyone's hand with a note belting out of her lips each time. Warren smiled from the kitchen as he washed the plates.

"Dude," Zach called from the living room. "Why are you washing dishes? Come join the mini party!"

The pyro couldn't help it. He worked day and night at that stupid restaurant his grandmother owned and he sure as hell couldn't get his habit of cleaning dirty dishes out of his system if he didn't work his full shift that day. So, God dammit, he was going to wash those dishes until they were fucking clean.

Ben wailed from Layla's lap. The orange primate stoon on his feet and began to hop on her legs repeatedly.

"Ben," the animal paused to look at Dannon. "Hush; you need to behave." The monkey whined in affection as it climbed its way to Dannon and wrapped itself in her. She rolled her eyes and took a sip from her beer. The Corona slid down her throat and she welcomed the familiar feeling of walking on warmth.

Ethan stared at her in awe. "It's amazing. A wild animal trained into domestic obedience. He's more-behaved than a service dog."

"Nah," Dannon replied. "He just doesn't like it when Mommy is upset." She cooed at the primate as it placed a large mammal kiss on her breast bone and rubbed its face against it.

She downed the alcohol in five gulps and stood up. Ben hopped onto the cushioned seat and settled in as she made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed another beer from the fridge and opened it with her hand. Warren turned off the sink and let his heat dry the water on his hands. She handed him a Corona.

"I wouldn't peg you for the kind to drink beer," mentioned as he cracked it open with his teeth. She cocked an eyebrow as he drank half the beer in her hand.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "And why is that, Peaches?"

"You seem like the kind to just drink tea or coffee or champagne." She scoffed. She took steps closer to him and she placed the beer to her lips and downed it in one gulp. She sighed in refreshment. She had Warren backed up onto the counter. His beer landed on the granite as his breath caught. She pressed her body close to his. Her intention was purely innocent-to prove a point-but the way Warren's breath hitched seemed to suggest he thought otherwise. _What is wrong with me,_ he thought. _A girl is doing this to me. Not letting this happen after Ice Bitch._

Dannon smiled at him. "A little lesson, Warren." She grabbed his beer from his hand. "I'm not exactly what I seem to be. Same goes for you." She took a sip from his bottle and left him in the kitchen. _This is the last time I let Layla talk me into hanging at a girl's house._

* * *

><p>It was Monday and Warren was <em>extremely<em> tired. He'd been up Saturday night and the better part of last night at four in the morning, thinking about what happened at Dannon's house.

After the quiet incident in her kitchen where she incidentally turned into Sex Pot Dannon and proved she wasn't always a "golden girl," Zach wanted to play a game. Oh, and what a fucked up game it was. Long disputes and several suggestions later, everyone agreed to a game of Truth or Dare. _Son of a bitch,_ he thought.

It was awkward at first. Majenta had the Truth come out of Layla about hers and Will's sex life (They'd done some oral, but that was too disgusting already), Dannon had Dared Ethan to strip down to his underwear all night (_I have to say, training Ethan this summer paid off,_ Warren thought) and the nerd was deliciously ripped as Dannon explained, and Will had gotten Majenta to engage in a full fledge make-out session with Zach for a total of five minutes (In which, the shape-shifter blushed like a red rose for the next ten seconds).

The game hadn't been bad; until half an hour later when _Zach_ had the chance to Dare Dannon. She kicked back in the circle around the pile of money everyone put in to see who would accept the most Dares and answer the most Truths and simply told him to "bring it."

Oh, Warren remembered. That little bitch brought it, alright.

The glowing teen smiled sadistically and proclaimed in a cocky voice that he _TRIPLE DOG DARED_ the Elemental to…_kiss Warren._ _ON THE MOUTH._

Warren smiled lazily as he poured himself a cup of coffee in his kitchen. He had to admit, it was a damn good kiss. She sat up in her spot and crawled over and onto Warren's lap. He looked up at her with wide eyes as she winked at him. The last thing he could remember before his daze was gone was the feel of her cool lips on his warm ones. Somewhere between the kiss-turned-make-out_,_ Warren's hands had found their way onto her hips, fingers skimming soft sun-brown skin, and her fingers had bunched into his shirt, pulling him close. Her tongue brushed at his lips and she bit the lower softly before smiling, jumping off his lap and planting her butt beside him. She smirked at Zach.

"I win."

Warren blushed the rest of the night, his face turning into an even hotter oven than usual. An hour later, he had lost his shirt in a dare. He couldn't find it later when everyone was getting up to leave. But he was slightly overjoyed when the beautiful girl with dreads kissed his cheek in farewell. At the end of the night, Majenta had kissed her boyfriend, Layla admitted she and Will had a sex life, Ethan showed off her body, and Warren kissed a gorgeous girl and lost his shirt. To top it off, Dannon won the seventy dollars and eighteen cents in the money pile for accepting and answering ever Truth or Dare. And you what? He was damn well dandy with that!

He poured the rest of the coffee into a thermos and walked out of his house to catch the bus. He waited at the stop for ten minutes, wondering where the Bohemian girl was. She never showed. When the bus rolled up he got nervous. But he sat on the bus anyway. He had to let the whiney sophomore girl sit next to him. He groaned in his head the entire time. Her voice gave him a headache and he was really done with this lack of sleep thing.

To say Warren was happy the bus parked on Sky High was an understatement. To say he was praying a thank you to God was an even bigger understatement. He sped walked through the halls, trying to find her. But he didn't see her; until he stopped at his locker.

He was frozen on spot.

She was there, healthy and glowing and smiling as she conversed with a friend from her dance class. His easy-going smile out-shined Warren's brooding frown. And his clear blue eyes were probably better to look at then Warren's dark brown ones that turned fiery black in anger. But what stopped Warren wasn't the handsome dancer. It was her ensemble.

Her dreads had been pulled half and half and tied at the nape to fall over her shoulders in pigtails. Her lips were glossy red and her eyes bright with affection and joy. Her brown sheepskin backpack hung off her right shoulder, revealing an Invader Zim doll. Her legs were stuffed in black sheer tights embroidered to look like lacy flowers and vines and brown four inch ankle booties covered her feet. And to top it off, she wore a powder white collared, button-down shirt that fell mid-thigh with sleeves that were too long for her arms, almost covering her finger tips. The waist was belted with a brown leather friendship belt that matched the color of her shoes to give her figure a show-off.

Warren walked up to the two and coughed slightly to grab their attention. Dannon turned to look at him. "Hey, Warren! You know, carter, right?"

Warren stiffly nodded. "Yeah, hey."

The auburn haired boy smiled stiffly as well and nodded in regard. "Hey," he turned to Dannon. "Look, I'll talk to you later. But, remember, it's strictly between you and me, alright?"

She nodded. "Gotcha," she poked his chest. "Now go to class before you're late, Terry!" He smiled at her before turning and leaving the town teenagers alone at her locker. She turned to Warren. "So, what do you want?"

"Well, you didn't show up on the bus, so I got worried." He shivered in fear and disgust. "Plus that sophomore chick attacked."

She giggled. "Sorry. I was late out of bed this morning so I had to fly." She closed her locker as the bell rang. "You, on the other hand, look like you didn't get much sleep."

"It's because I didn't." She rolled her eyes and flicked his forehead.

"Your fault, silly." He smiled slightly, putting his head down. His eyes landed on her shirt/dress. His brain was melting and turning into cheese at the moment. _Jeez, can you say Brain Malfunction Alert?_

They turned and walked to class, side by side. They didn't say anything, a comfortable silence falling over them as he walked her to Psychosis II Honors.

Just before the bell rang, her grabbed her by the arm and turned her to him. She looked at him, question in her green eyes.

"By the way," he mentioned. "My shirt? It looks good on you."


	7. Definition of Cool

**Chapter 6**

Madam Connelly is the definition of cool. In fact, she is not just the definition of the word. She is the mother of cool.

To define Madam Connelly–Sky High's resident dance teacher–was to write an essay on your biggest inspiration in life. She stood at five feet, eleven inches with black hair to her hips and soft pink eyes from her persuasive powers. She pranced around the room, instead of walked, and she had a habit of singing the last word of every sentence. Her hands were always flying around as she spoke, expressing every importance of her words. And when she was mad, her left eye twitched erratically.

She always came to class with low cut sweats and jazz shoes. And if the style of dance required so, her hair would be pulled up in an exquisite bun on top of her head. Her nails were bitten off from nervous habits and her face never had any makeup.

She was Madam Connelly and she was the definition of cool.

When she walked into class midway through the day, just before lunch, Carter and I were surprised to see she had a top hat in her hand. Actually, no; we weren't very surprised with that one. She'd come in with stranger things in her possession. Just last Tuesday, she had dragged a handsome boy by the name of Ian Eastwood into our class to tell us about his days on America's Best Dance Crew. My eyes were glazed for days after.

She closed the door behind her and grinned in a way that said she had something exciting to tell us but we weren't allowed to hear it until the three brats in the back shut their traps.

"Alright, boys and girls," she began. "I have an announcement to make."

The whispers began. Ears were filled with rumors of new dances or hotter guests (though I don't think there's anyone out there more delicious than Ian Eastwood) while eyes roamed to the back of their craniums in thought of what was in store with our awesome dance teacher.

"Now, as you know, the theme for our Homecoming dance is 'Circus Top.' But, the entertainment we hired had to cancel because their ringmaster came down with pneumonia. _So_…" She put the top hat on a female-figured dummy standing next to her. "…_We_ are going to entertain the Homecoming dance with several performances."

Everyone cheered in excitement, whistling and swinging their arms around in victory dances.

Carter raised his hand as he asked, "How are we going to do that?"

"Good question, Carter!" Madam Connelly raised her hands in fists. "We will have everyone assigned a song or dance number and they will be taught a routine that coincides with the song and theme. But only three people out of every class will perform the five big group numbers. And this is not including…The Ring Mistress."

Every male in the room howled. Carter nudged me in the waist, throwing me several eyebrow wiggles and suggestive winks.

A certain, icy voice in the back came to my attention as she asked a question even I wanted the answer to.

"Yes, Miss Winters?" Madam Connelly acknowledged her. "What is your question?"

A pale arm went back to side of a pale blue dress. "I was wondering who the Ring Mistress would be and how she's chosen?"

Eyes began to roll. _Joy_, I thought. _She wants the lead. What a surprise._ Please, note the never-ending sarcasm at her mentioning.

"Lovely question, Icy. The Ring Mistress will be chosen as if she were Homecoming Queen. She will be nominated by a fellow dancer and if she receives the class majority vote, she will be in the running for Ring Mistress." She smiled. "Then the rest of the school will vote in a week's time. As soon as that's done, rehearsals will begin."

* * *

><p>"Carter, I could stab you with my fork right now!"<p>

Layla sat down across from me as she asked me, "Why are you gonna stab him with a fork?"

"Yeah, that seems highly impossible considering they're plastic," Ethan said as he took the seat beside Carter.

I sighed and gave the auburn-haired boy a dark look of hatred before turning to Layla and Ethan. "He nominated me to be the Ring Mistress for the Homecoming Dance. Which puts me on Icy's radar of people she wants to poke with icicles."

"Oh, yeah. You're in trouble." Majenta sat on Layla's right as Will came crashing down on the red-head's left. Zach came shortly after on Majenta's side. All that was left was a brooding Warren Peace.

Majenta took a sip from her juice before turning to Ethan. "Wait, why is Dannon in trouble?"

Carter smiled sheepishly as he answered, "I might have accidently pit her against Icy Winters in a vote to be Ring Mistress for the school dance."

Zach smiled cheekily. "I heard of that! The school is supposed to vote as soon as the nominees go up today during…lunch…"

Everyone followed Zach's gaze as an angry Warren Peace stomped to the table covered in stickers from head to waist of Icy in a top hat saying, "Icy Winters for Ring Mistress!"

"That's just wrong," Will whispered.

"No shit," I muttered back.

"How'd she even get stickers done? Everyone found out like, an hour ago!" Ethan's voice went up an octave higher at the mention of this.

"Yeah, well, she works in mysterious ways," Majenta replied with wide eyes.

Warren Peace sat down next to me, still covered in stickers. His eyes were black with malice and his hands twisted in fists as he tried hard not to flame up. The shoulders of his leather jacket were already smoking though.

"Um…"

"_Don't_…even say _anything._" Warren interrupted me.

"Okay," I replied.

Everyone was quiet for a total of ten seconds. No one even moved as the lunchroom TVs began to blare with the announcement of Ring Mistress voting. Icy, a brunette girl named Zara, a bleached blonde named Bailey, and I popped up on the TV one by one as the announcement ran through the speakers.

A hand reached past me and over to Warren. It pressed against his chest and slid back over to Carter's side. It was a sticker. My face was on it. There was a slogan, too. "Dannon Price is the one you call 'Master' on Circus Night!"

Carter suddenly lit up in flames in his crotch area. He jumped from his seat beside me and started to smack the flames as he screamed in shock.

Carter yelled out, "Danny," at the same time that Layla scolded a certain pyro. "Warren!" She stopped and looked at Carter. "Wait, you don't think it was Warren?"

I slumped my face onto the table, face-planting on the hard surface. "Trust me," I groaned, "it wasn't Warren."

* * *

><p>It was four in the afternoon and I was tired. School let out an hour ago and I was currently splayed across the contours of my queen sized bed, my face buried into Minnie's fur. Her stomach provided perfect elevation for my head with every fox-sized inhale. I sighed.<p>

"You know," came Tenessa's voice, "you can't put it off any longer." I groaned into Minnie's stomach. My fingers curled around my keys.

"But I don't want to!" A sigh. Frail fingers touch my hair as Tens sits beside me on my bed. The action comforts me and sends me into a momentary relapse of drowsiness.

She begins speaking again. "I know you don't want to, Noni, but you have to find out for yourself." I shook my head. "Then you're not going to be able to sleep until you find out for sure if she's still there or not."

I whined into my pillow, inconsistent mumblings reaching my guardian's ear. She chuckled before bending over and placing a soft kiss on my head and proceeded to leave my room. I heard her stop at my door. "It's what your mom would want you to do. She'd want you to feel safe."


	8. Forever My Light

**Chapter 7**

He missed him.

This little revelation of a thought came to Warren as he stomped outside to the mailbox and pulled out a single letter, sealed and stamped, with an address he hoped he would never see again.

Warren Peace missed his father.

As quickly as the thought entered his head, he crumpled the envelope into his pocket and ran inside. He sat in his room for the better part of an hour and then knocked himself down into the pillows sitting at his headboard. As his eyes closed, closing in on a spike in the ceiling, he thought back on several things. Many things, in fact, that had nothing to do with his father. Just little things he missed out on due to a lack of stability in his life because of his incarcerated father. Rewind, he thought. It has _everything_ to do with my father.

For one thing, he missed out on a lot of Father-Son Sunday Sports. He missed out on Little League because his mother never had the time to take him to practice now that she was a single parent. He missed out on learning how to punch things without reason. He learned punching from a dipshit who couldn't keep his hands off a girl's outer exterior in seventh grade gym. Needless to say, Warren didn't like an ass who couldn't respect a girl. And to top it all off, he'd missed out on learning about girls from the man who could charm them all.

He missed out on having a father.

* * *

><p>The feel of someone playing with his hair woke Warren from his sleep. His eyes opened in grogginess and blur, forcing him to focus deeply on the red numbers blaring from his clock. He'd slept for five hours. He moved to lift his head, but realized he wasn't resting it on the pillows. It was on a pair of crossed legs; a pair of long, tan, and very smooth, very long familiar legs.<p>

"Dannon," he groaned as he turned his head into the crook of her knee. He inhaled deeply, the scent of lilies and lavender reaching his nostrils and soothing him. He sighed in content. "How'd you get in?"

He heard her soft, deep chuckle. "You lock your doors, but you sure as hell don't lock your windows, Peaches." Her long, delicate fingers (as he quickly observed) pushed the hair from his face as he faced her, his head still on her lap. The pad of her fingers rubbed gently into his skin. "Everyone was calling you, trying to figure out why you didn't show up for Study Group. I picked the short straw so I came to check on you." He groaned in annoyance.

"I hate that they still do that," he whined. She grinned down at him, her dreads curtaining her face.

"Yeah," she replied, "well they still do, so you're very out of luck."

She got him to laugh.

She rubbed at his scalp, scratching the top of his head slightly, lifting a moan from his throat in approval. Her fingers knotted in his long hair as she whispered to him, "What's on your mind?"

He didn't want to tell her. Yes, she'd known him now for the better part of two months, becoming a dear friend, and even encouraging him to finally knock the Ice Bitch over the edge of the school (Which wasn't as bad as most would think. Will saved her…When she was five feet from the ground). Clearly, he could tell her anything, but this? He was just too damn scared and emotional and mentally fucked up to mention the letter he hadn't yet opened. Actually, he didn't plan to open it at all. At best, he would burn the damn thing.

So, instead of telling her the real reason behind his sudden recluse tendencies, he opted for the easiest truth in the back of his head.

"The fact that you're so damn beautiful," he whispered back. His ears turned pink, and then cherry red. _That did _not_ just come out of my mouth._

She leaned her head forward, her nose touching the tip of his as she narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Don't lie to me, Warren. What's got your fire burning out?"

His eyes searched hers, looking for every reason _not_ to tell her about the letter. But the thing was he couldn't find one. All he saw when he looked into her eyes was the feeling of being scared. Scared of what? Scared of not knowing. She was scared of not knowing what was wrong and somehow it made him open up about the one thing he always lock away in the black hole of his mind.

Five minutes later, his even bigger revelation occurred. And it began, like always, with the damn letter.

"You're dad wrote you a letter?" Her hands held the envelope in front of her face as he changed in the dark abyss of his closet. He was very proud of his body. His abs were rock hard and he had a nice pair of pectorals. And his muscles? Yeah, his arms were pretty damn good. He wasn't ashamed of it, the god-like similarities of his body. But he had the decency to be modest and not change in front of a girl who probably couldn't get a date. _Not that she's ugly._ He smiled as he pulled on a pair sweats that hung dangerously low on his hipbones. _She's just so goddamn intimidating! _He really wouldn't mind trying to handle her. She seems like she'd be a nice girl to call his…

"Have you read it?" He froze, then slowly walked out of his closet in all his shirtless glory and stood in front of her. She looked up at him, green eyes turning blue as she searched his face for an answer. They widened. "You haven't read any of them, have you?"

"No…" he replied slowly. She stood up, pushing him to sit on his bed as she kneeled in front of him. She grabbed his hands in hers and looked him right in the eye.

"Warren," she began, "listen to me. I know. I know what it's like to hate someone you used to love. I also know what it's like to miss that same person when everything in your right mind says you need to hate, hate, hate.

"You need to learn to put it all past you and open that damn letter so that you can read it. You're going to regret it one day if you don't." She drops his hands and places her hands on either side of his face, her palms cupping his cheeks as she stood. "Read it, Warren."

She walked out.

* * *

><p><em>To my only son,<em>

_It has been thirteen years since I've last seen my son. That's a lot of time without seeing you smile, Warren. All I have of you is a picture of you on your fifth birthday. The one where you smiled with cake frosting all over your left cheek and your two front teeth were missing. It's all they let me keep when they took me away from you. When I was forced to say goodbye._

_Do you miss me, Warren? Do you miss your old man?_

_I suppose not. The Commander has come to see me several times in the past four years. You've befriended his son, William. You're very close, I hear. Almost like brothers…_

_I'm proud of you, Warren. Of all the things I've done, the killing, the stealing, the hurting and even winning at gambling and "getting the girl" known as your mom…I could've been proud of those, like a true villain. And I am, because it's just the way I'm built. But what I'm proud of the most? It's you. I'm proud of having a son like you._

_So, to feel the pride one more time…I would hope to see you one last time, because I fear this will be the last letter I will ever write. No, I _know_, this is the last letter I will ever write._

_I hope I can say goodbye to you before I leave._

_Forever My Light, Dad_

* * *

><p>Warren dropped the letter onto his bed as he kicked the nightstand next to his bed. The noise egged him on to scream at the top of his burning lungs. His fist flew, hitting the mirror and cracking it. Then it hit the wall. Following the wall was the door of his closet, and then <em>another <em>wall. His screams filled the room as he crumpled to the ground in rage and shock and pain.

Dannon found him in the same position, hunched over himself, screaming and crying into the carpet as his fists dug into the floor. She took hesitant steps towards him as she called out his name.

"Warren," she croaked. His screaming ceased as he dry heaved into the black carpet. She swallowed the thick lump in her throat as she croaked his name again. "Warren!"

She kneeled on the ground beside him, her hands hovering on top of his back, afraid to touch him in fear he'll break. For once, Warren Peace looked like he could be broken. No, Warren Peace _was_ broken.

She, hesitantly, placed the pads of her fingers on his spine, then the entire length of her fingers, then her palms and soon she was lifting his head up. He didn't waste much time. Within seconds, he had buried his head into her stomach, digging his fingers into her hip and thigh. He cried into her shirt, holding tightly as her hands rested on his head, holding him there with little strength.

She read the letter one foot away, resting on the ground.

"He's dying, isn't he, Warren?" Her voice was soft, afraid to raise any higher in volume than it already was.

His voice, broken and tearful, replied with, "He can't leave me again…" He choked before adding on at the end, "He can't leave me a second time. Not like that."

That was the moment Dannon realized she needed to go do a checkup on a certain someone that was supposed to be dead. That was also the moment Warren fell in love with Dannon Price.


	9. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Over summer vacation, I moved away from my friends and family to Alabama from North Carolina. I still talk to them and we're always getting into trouble together even though we are 600 miles apart. Needless to say, I've having a healthy relationship with the people I  
>"abandoned."<strong>

**Also, recently, it has been brought to my attention that people were saying mean things about me after I left. ?**

**Well, I guess they didn't have the balls to say when I was actually in NC. But apparently they had the vagina to say it when I moved away three states. WTF?! No. It's simple. You got a problem with me? Either suck a dick and keep it in your mouth, or fucking tell me.**

**I'm not a bitch, but I'm a whole lot worse than one.**

**So, while I'm confronting these assholes in the next couple weeks I'm in NC, there will be an even bigger lack in updating. Oops! on their part.**


	10. It Was Real

"Do it."

"No."

"Do it."

"No."

"Dammnit, Dannon! DO IT!"

"Alright, fine!" I snatched the keys from Tens's hand and stomped over to the car. The beautiful black Mercedes-Benz circa 1956 gleamed in the sunlight as my shadow darkened in the paint and reflected my face back at me. My eyes were swollen and bruised from lack of sleep and my arms were red and raw from Warren's fire episode yesterday. I turned back to my blonde guardian. "Maybe I should take the SUV instead," I suggested. She looked me up for a moment, taking in my sweatpants, ratty jazz shoes, and worn out "Nerd Herd" T-shirt from Hot Topic I'd gotten years ago. _It's a wonder this thing still fits_, I thought. She nodded before throwing me the other keys and catching the ones I held previously.

"You'll call me when you get there," she asked with wide, worrying eyes. I nodded stiffly before stepping into the silver car and turning the key in the ignition. Within moments, I was driving down the road to Warren's.

As I came to a stop in his driveway, I closed my eyes and thought about her. I started to think about Clara.

* * *

><p><em>"Clara!"<em>

_"What is is, Dahlia?"_

_"Why are you so prettty?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You're really pretty! How come you're so pretty?"_

_"Because, I'm just as pretty on the inside."_

_"What about me?"_

_"You're beautiful."_

_"What's 'beautiful' mean?"_

_"It means you're even prettier than pretty!"_

_"I want to be beautiful!"_

_"Good, because that's what you are. Nothing less."_

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes as the sound of knocking reached my ears. Warren was standing in front of the passenger door, hands burried in his pockets and eyes as red as mine. He was crying again. I unlocked the car and he jumped in. We sat there for five minutes in silence, letting the hot air from the vents warm us from the cold outside air. He spoke first.<p>

"What's going on," he asked.

"I have to show you something," was all I replied to him before I took the car out of parking and drove off onto the street.

"Show me what?"

"Something about myself."

"Dannon, honestly," he asked, "what's going on?"

"We're going to Riverton. You'll get your answers there."

"That's three hours away."

"Then I guess we'll have three hours worth the bonding experience we need."

Nothing was said after that for half the trip.

Instead of speaking, we touched. It was something we'd developed over the past couple months of our friendship. When words couldn't be said, we touched. A brush of my fingers here, a touch to my wrist there; it was normalcy for the both of us. We'd both gone so long without such affectionate and true touches that we found them in each other. And though the majority of our friends were confused by our actions, Warren and I were not. For us, it was real. And real was something we needed right now.

* * *

><p>Midpoint of Riverton and our current residence, I stopped the car in the parking lot of a Wendy's and dragged Warren inside to eat. His cheeks were slightly sunken in from his latest bout of depression and I was beginning to worry that if I didn't shove any food down his throat soon, we were going to have a very bad problem with his nutritional levels.<p>

"I don't want to eat," he muttered ten minutes later. He was glaring down at the tray with his food. I gave him a pointed look and shoved a spicy chicken nugget in his face.

"Don't take it out on the nugget," I said. "Eat it."

He snatched it from my hand and crammed it in his mouth before chewing and looking back down with a glare and frustration evident on his face.

I sighed and moved to the seat next to him from across the table where I sat. Automatically, his head rested on my shoulder, burrying his nose in the junction of my neck and shoulder. He breathed in deeply before exhaling onto my skin. I shivered slightly at the feeling of his breath on my skin. I reached my fingers into his black hair and twisted them around, soothing him. After I found him in his room crying into the carpet, I stayed the night, holding him in his bed to me. I woke up this morning to a large pyrokinetic curled into my side, his head on my chest and hands clutching mine. His face showed trouble and distraught. I woke him up and calmed him long enough to tell him I was coming back for him in an hour.

Now, I sat with him in Wendy's, eating fries as he clutched onto me again. I don't think he would have cared if the others saw him now. I don't think he even cared anymore _who_ saw him.

"Why are you crying," he whispered. I looked down at his face and realized that his cheeks were wet. With my tears.

I wiped them away and calmly replied, "You're not the only one who's got a messed up past."

* * *

><p>His breath fogged up slightly as we walked past the trees and through the brush. Mine was cool, and fresh as my body and my powers adapted to the weather of Riverton. The cold air surrounded us deeply with fog and nips of ice. My body had gotten too used to the surrounding heat and cool breezes of Maxville so the weather shock was killing me. I shivered uncontrollably until a jacket come over me. I smiled at Warren as I pushed my arms througn the sleeves and grabbed his hand, leading him deeper into the woods.<p>

We reached an opening in the trail. I stopped, breathing deeply as my heart pounded in my chest. Something was wrong here. On their own accord, my feet began to move towards the middle of the large opening. First they were hesitant steps. Then I was walking normal speed, and as my worries were confirmed, I began to run. I let go of Warren's hand and sprinted away.

"Dannon!" I ignored his cries for me to come back as I ran to the large gaping hole in the field of purple daisies. My eyes watered from the shock of cold air and my tears as I ran. I collapsed at the edge of the hole and looked inside.

I screamed.

When Warren reached me I was digging into the dirt, hoping to find her. Hoping that her Bindings were simply hidden with the Mist. But instead, there was nothing. He clutched at my arms, dragging me away from the edge of the hole and kneeled down in front of me.

"Dannon!" His voice was panicked and worried. I sobbed as he cooed at me to calm down. I ignored it as I pleaded.

"Oh God," I cried, "please no...Please don't be gone!"

"Dannon," he yelled at me. "What is going on?! What did we come here for?"

"She's gone!"

"Who? Was she in there?" I nodded. "Who is she? Who's gone?"

I looked up at him with dirty and tear-stained cheeks as I croaked back at him two words.

"My sister."


	11. AUTHOR'S NOTE 2

**So, my best friend and I are writing this story together, called Faceless. It's based on people we knew back in our old school when we both lived in NC. Now he's in Texas, I'm in Alabama, and that means we can kill off everyone we hated back in NC. It's about two best friends sleuthing around their school and small town because there's a killer who kinda maybe has a vendetta against someone in the story. It's gonna be a trilogy and it's kinda cool. We need promotions, guys! PROMOTE THIS MESS! If you love me, you'll message me for the link and you'll promote the mess out of that story we're working really hard on. Please? It would do us a favor.**

**Enjoy my pretties! Two chapters in one day if you guys start reeling in for the link!**


	12. AUTHOR'S NOTE 3

**SO, this story will be on a haitus. Yes, I know, I'm a bitch, asshole, ungrateful piece of giraffe shit. But it's out of my hands. My sister somehow figured out my password and fuckered up my whole Warren Peace folder. Basically, the next several chapters I've written for We Are Young, have been deleted. You can thank my sister for this. Little bitch.**

**But, to ease your minds, I do have several chapters written for a Teen Wolf (TV series) fanfic that I very much love writing. So, I will begin posting this as of...NOW!**

**This Fanfic will be titled "Photograph" and it's a romance/family fanfic. The romance is for our lovely Isaac Lahey. And the family part is for just about every other jerk adult in the show we've come to know and love. I've also made up my own mythical creature for this story. But you need to read it to know just how good this is. You should totally read it. Like now.**


	13. Goodbye to You

**So, I will be discontinuing this story simply because I have lost the heart to continue writing it. My Writer's Block has hit me deep on this since I've tried rewriting what my sister deleted and now that school has also let up on me, I can write more and let these fresher ideas out. So I will be writing a new Warren FF that is a little more humorous and not as dramatic, but definitely a little mystery to the OFC and all that jazz. **

**Unfortunately, this one won't have dreads, and it's probably killing you because of how many people tell me they are a fan of the girl with the dreads in her hair but she will be very unique and different and has anyone else read that story where the girl apparently controls fire, has dreads, and owns a white ferret? A little suspicious, but OH WELL!**

**Lastly, my fic for Isaac Lahey from Teen Wolf is getting kind of iffy so I'm trying to work out all the kinks for Photograph and maybe even get a little romance for Derek in a newer fic if these ideas can sort themselves out.**

**-My Friends Call Me Cookie!**

**P.S. The title for this new Warren fic will be titled under a Freelance Whales song. An OC character tied to my OC in this fic will be named after the first person who guesses it correctly :D**


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